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Despite struggles Bengals win

POCATELLO -- There was a theme to the Idaho State soccer teams exhibition opener against Salt Lake Community College Tuesday afternoon; missed opportunities.
The Bengals spent much of the game within five yards of the top of the goal box, and despite the heavy attack the Bruins goalies faced, the goals were few and far between.

Mikaela Carrillo and Allyssa Kenney each had goals as ISU earned a 2-0 win at Davis Field in Pocatello.
"This was a frustrating game," ISU head coach Allison Gibson said. "It was frustrating in the sense that we were trying to hard to get everything right. What happened in the first half was the inability to play the game. We were playing our training. We were trying to do everything we do while we train and because of that we struggled."
ISU pelted the SLCC goalies with 22 shots in the game, but just five of them actually rte ached the keeper.
Carrillo got the Bengals on the board at the 23:58 mark when see popped up a shot from 35 yards out the was just out of the reach of Bruins goalie Ashley Earnshaw.
ISU went into the half up 1-0.
The second half was controlled by the Bengals offensive pressure.
"We got a lot more opportunities in the second half," Gibson said. "We opened things up a lot more and because of that we got a lot more opportunities, we just did not finish. We will definitely work on the finishing aspect now."
Of the Bengals 22 shots, 16 came in the second half.
"We need to work on that connection in the final third," Gibson said. "I think we started playing the game and quit running our drills things got better. But we still have a lot of things to work on before we hit the field again."
Other than capitalizing on their chances, the Bengals also struggled on their set plays.
ISU had a half dozen opportunities at set plays deep in SLCC territory, but instead of a ball finding a foot it would go through the goal box untouched.
"Our entire training this morning was set pieces," Gibson said. "Set pieces are weird because they are so unnatural because you have to do so much work to get to finishing position. I am disappointed with those opportunities, but we will work on them.
The Bengals last goal came in the last two minutes of the game when Kenney laced a shot from the center of the goal box past the keeper.
ISU will spend the next week training before they take on the College of Idaho next Tuesday at 1 p.m.